16th Street being spruced up by Benjamin Moore Paints

Will Ketels, left, and Kevin Hess, both with Benjamin Moore, work on renovating one of the buildings along 16th Street on Tuesday in Greeley. Benjamin Moore is currently renovating building up and down the 16th street as a part of the "Main Street Matters" program.

Jordan Reyes, with Benjamin Moore, watches his paint roller closely as he works on priming some of the railing around D.P. Dough, 901 16th Street, on Tuesday in Greeley. Greeley was selected after the chamber of commerce submitted an application to the Main Street Matters Program program to receive funding and help renovating their downtown areas.

Jessie Garcia, with Benjamin Moore, takes on the unique job of fixing up the Volkswagen beetle that decorates the Taste of Philly, 829 16th St., during some renovations for the "Main Street Matters" program on Tuesday in Greeley. The efforts to renovate Greeley will be focusing on the 16th Street area near the intersections of 9th Avenue.

Officials hope to complete the Main Street Matters project before April 11. A celebration will be held from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. April 11 outside D.P. Dough, 901 16th St., to mark the success of the project.

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In the words of Mellow Yellow manager Richard Sanchez, Greeley’s 16th Street near the University of Northern Colorado campus could use a new coat of lipstick.

In this case, the lipstick is in the form of the revitalization efforts of Benjamin Moore Paints through their Main Street Matters campaign across America.

Eight workers started sanding storefronts Monday along a three-block stretch of 16th Street to prepare them for new paint, and Tuesday the workers were busy applying primer.

Buildings along 16th Street, including a vacant, weather-worn brick storefront on 10th Avenue and Mellow Yellow’s faded gold façade on 9th Avenue, are getting new paint and trimmings.

The campaign to spruce up the area and draw more visitors is part of a combined effort of Benjamin Moore Paints and Brad Pitt’s Make It Right foundation to improve main streets and downtowns of cities across the country.

During the 2013 application process, Benjamin Moore told Greeley officials the city met their criteria for funding. But the community carried Greeley’s torch to victory through online voting because only cities that got the most votes were selected.

“We have to give hats off to the community. They really rallied the support for Greeley,” Assistant City Manager Becky Safarik said.

After voting closed in June 2013, Benjamin Moore announced the 20 cities that would receive revitalization assistance. Greeley was the only Colorado city selected.

“We feel kind of blessed that Greeley won in the first place,” said James Spaedt, co-owner of The Kitchen located between 9th and 10th avenues.

In an effort to support local businesses, Benjamin Moore hired 21st Century Painting & Maintenance Inc. to carry out the restorations that will take place on the north side of 16th Street between 8th Avenue and 10th Avenue. The Johnstown company was selected based on recommendations from local mortgage and real estate companies.

In order to make the most of the project, the painters consulted with color specialists from Benjamin Moore to select a color palette that fits best with the architecture and existing appearance of the storefronts in Greeley.

In addition to painting exteriors, workers will restore metal window trim on store fronts, remove asbestos panels where needed and coordinate with a local artist to restore a broken window at Mellow Yellow, said project supervisor Jeff Tori of 21st Century Painting.

The color palette includes more than 20 different colors to be used in the 2½ block area, Benjamin Moore representative Eric Guerra said.

However, the beautification project aims to preserve the existing character of the area, including the multi-colored Pabst Blue Ribbon mural on the side of The Crvsh Room and the mural on The Kitchen of a dancing headphone-wearing woman.

The project will benefit all of the businesses in the area and spur more community involvement, said Karla Long, owner of The Blue Mug Coffee Company.

“We feel kind of blessed that Greeley won in the first place. — James Spaedt, co-owner of The Kitchen